Latest news with #Zélé
Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
In France, being late for work is a form of advance retirement
'In precisely six and three-quarter minutes the damned fella will be late,' says Nancy Mitford 's Uncle Matthew, grinding his teeth as he waits by his trout stream for the Chubb Fuddler to arrive. Being late for an appointment is a certain way to enrage the person who is made to wait – even (or perhaps especially) if they are habitually unpunctual themselves. Lateness says, 'My time is more important than yours,' which is why celebs have transformed it into something approaching performance art, turning up ever more extravagantly late, with ever more preposterous excuses. Impressively late for a breakfast television interview, the reality star Gemma Collins complained that the 'helicopter didn't turn up on time', while the rapper Lauryn Hill, notorious for pitching up late to her own concerts, explained in a social media post that 'the challenge is aligning my energy with the time'. Goodness knows, we've all had that problem. The groundlings kept hanging about by these effigies of self-importance have little option but to twiddle their thumbs while their own time slips uselessly away. But lateness can also be an effective means of subversion. Go-slows and working to rule have traditionally been used by disgruntled workers to signal their discontent with decisions by politicians or bosses. But in France a trio of creative directors known as the Zélé collective have come up with a sophisticated reimagining of the go-slow as a satirical protest against President Macron's pension reforms. Two years ago, when Macron forced through legislation to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, the French populace made its feelings clear in the usual way. There were strikes and protests across the country, at which effigies of the President, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, and other ministers were burned. So far, so French. But the Zélé collective's protest is an altogether slicker affair. On Instagram, an AI -generated Minister for Latecomers - young and handsome, with a hint of designer stubble and a carefully cultivated air of gravitas - addresses the nation. 'Français, Françaises', he intones, 'today we launch a citizens' movement against the retirement reforms by taking back our mornings'. Every minute that employees turn up late to work, he explains, is an act of resistance, reclaiming the leisure stolen by the pension reforms. A link is provided for workers to calculate precisely how many minutes of daily delay are required to redress their personal balance. Despite the pension reforms, the OECD's Global Life-Work Balance Index for 2024 still had France in 13th place; while the UK, where we must labour until 66 (rising to 67 next year and eventually to 68), was 15th. So on this side of the Channel, it is hard to feel much solidarity for the French workers, freed from toil at a comparatively youthful 64. Charles-Antoine De Sousa of the Zélés admits that the campaign is largely symbolic. 'But if we don't protest, one day we will wake up and find that we, too, have to work until we are 67'. Time, as everyone from Hippocrates to the authors of self-help books ('Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting') is keen to remind us, is a precious commodity. If we waste it, as Shakespeare's Richard II bitterly reflects, it will waste us. There, at least, we can agree with the virtual Minister for Latecomers.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
In France, being late for work is a form of advance retirement
'In precisely six and three-quarter minutes the damned fella will be late,' says Nancy Mitford's Uncle Matthew, grinding his teeth as he waits by his trout stream for the Chubb Fuddler to arrive. Being late for an appointment is a certain way to enrage the person who is made to wait – even (or perhaps especially) if they are habitually unpunctual themselves. Lateness says, 'My time is more important than yours,' which is why celebs have transformed it into something approaching performance art, turning up ever more extravagantly late, with ever more preposterous excuses. Impressively late for a breakfast television interview, the reality star Gemma Collins complained that the 'helicopter didn't turn up on time', while the rapper Lauryn Hill, notorious for pitching up late to her own concerts, explained in a social media post that 'the challenge is aligning my energy with the time'. Goodness knows, we've all had that problem. The groundlings kept hanging about by these effigies of self-importance have little option but to twiddle their thumbs while their own time slips uselessly away. But lateness can also be an effective means of subversion. Go-slows and working to rule have traditionally been used by disgruntled workers to signal their discontent with decisions by politicians or bosses. But in France a trio of creative directors known as the Zélé collective have come up with a sophisticated reimagining of the go-slow as a satirical protest against President Macron's pension reforms. Two years ago, when Macron forced through legislation to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, the French populace made its feelings clear in the usual way. There were strikes and protests across the country, at which effigies of the President, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, and other ministers were burned. So far, so French. But the Zélé collective's protest is an altogether slicker affair. On Instagram, an AI -generated Minister for Latecomers - young and handsome, with a hint of designer stubble and a carefully cultivated air of gravitas - addresses the nation.'Français, Françaises', he intones, 'today we launch a citizens' movement against the retirement reforms by taking back our mornings'. Every minute that employees turn up late to work, he explains, is an act of resistance, reclaiming the leisure stolen by the pension reforms. A link is provided for workers to calculate precisely how many minutes of daily delay are required to redress their personal balance. Despite the pension reforms, the OECD's Global Life-Work Balance Index for 2024 still had France in 13th place; while the UK, where we must labour until 66 (rising to 67 next year and eventually to 68), was 15th. So on this side of the Channel, it is hard to feel much solidarity for the French workers, freed from toil at a comparatively youthful 64. Charles-Antoine De Sousa of the Zélés admits that the campaign is largely symbolic. 'But if we don't protest, one day we will wake up and find that we, too, have to work until we are 67'. Time, as everyone from Hippocrates to the authors of self-help books ('Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting') is keen to remind us, is a precious commodity. If we waste it, as Shakespeare's Richard II bitterly reflects, it will waste us. There, at least, we can agree with the virtual Minister for Latecomers. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Disgruntled French workers encouraged to arrive late in protest over pension age rise
Changes to France's pension system have been a hot potato for French presidents for decades, bringing disgruntled people on to the streets, leading to civil unrest and nationwide strikes that have brought the country to a standstill. Two years ago, in the face of bitter opposition, Emmanuel Macron, France's president, passed a law raising the general retirement age from 62 to 64 and the issue appeared to have been put to bed. Now, a trio of French artists have launched a satirical campaign encouraging the country's workers to be systematically late as a way of making up for the extra two years. The Zélé collective has been leafleting Paris in advance of May Day, the traditional workers' holiday, and set up an 'official calculator' that works out how many minutes late people should turn up to work to compensate for having to toil for longer. Charles-Antoine De Sousa, 35, an advertising creative director who is behind the campaign, says: 'The idea is absurd, but it's a way of showing our discontent. 'We've had serious protests in France and that hasn't worked. People haven't been heard. So this is a fun alternative, a symbolic resistance, a way of putting the issue back on the table.' De Sousa and fellow creative directors Simon Lamasa, 36, and Marc Horgues, 35, have put their artistic talents into producing an AI-generated official announcement from the 'minister of latecomers' accompanied by the Marseillaise and an unhappy looking Marianne, symbol of the French republic. 'The pension reform requires you to work for longer? Compensate by arriving late for work,' reads the message. Workers can calculate exactly how many minutes late they should be on a dedicated link. De Sousa admits to the Guardian that most French people have shorter working lives than their European counterparts but says the campaign is about maintaining the country's celebrated work-life balance. 'We know compared to other countries in Europe we are quite privileged but we see that more and more is expected of us and there's a certain passive acceptance of this,' De Sousa says. 'We know if we do not protest then one day we will wake up and find we too have to work until we are 67 and for those in other countries it could be even longer. 'I have worked since student jobs at 16 and began my working career aged 21 and I haven't stopped since. The reform has hit our generation because we thought we were nearer retirement than we are and at the same time all we hear is that our pensions will also be less.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Every French president for the past 40 years has attempted to change the pension system and retirement age, prompting anger and demonstrations against an assault on what is seen as the keystone of France's cherished model of social protection. In 2023 Macron forced through pension changes, part of his second-term re-election manifesto, by using a controversial constitutional clause that avoided a parliamentary vote. In a rare show of unity, all trade unions took part in protests that peaked in March of that year. An estimated 1.28 million people took to the streets. The French pension system is based on the principle of what politicians call 'solidarity between generations' and involves the working population funding the pensions of those who are retired. France has the lowest qualifying age for a state pension among the principle European economies. The pension system is costly but those in work pay high contributions and expect equally high pensions. All French workers get a state pension based on their contributions and their 25 highest-earning years to a maximum of €1,932 (£1,642) a month gross. De Souza acknowledges that even if workers turn up to their jobs late, it is unlikely France will return to retirement at 62. 'I don't hold out much hope. Nevertheless, it is the wish of millions of French people. So if one day they listen to us again, we can start dreaming again,' he says.
